Do freelance editors need insurance?
It seems that government agencies, in particular, are increasingly requiring it of us. People are asked to sign contracts that stipulate anything from public liability cover of up to $10,000,000, to professional indemnity insurance, personal accident and illness insurance, loss of income insurance, and workers’ compensation. For the one-person business based in a home office and with annual taxable income that is probably under $60,000 a year, these are stiff requirements. Unfortunately, because ours is an uncommon profession, insurance companies put us into a ‘miscellaneous’ category, often with high-risk occupations. This means that even when a broker acts on an editor’s behalf, the cost of basic cover for public liability and professional indemnity is likely to be about $2,500–$3,000 a year. Recently I talked to a lawyer at the Arts Law Centre of Australia about these contractual requirements. He explained that while an organisation’s ‘standard’ contract may stipulate insurance cove
